Containment, decontamination, and cleanup procedures
What this domain tests
Building and maintaining containment, moving people and waste through decontamination in the right direction, and cleaning to a standard that survives clearance.
Containment
- Critical barriers first: seal HVAC registers, doors, windows, and penetrations with 6-mil poly and tape. Floors get two layers; walls and ceilings get one, seams taped.
- Post warning signs at every entry and restrict access to trained, licensed workers in PPE.
- Maintain negative pressure continuously - through cleanup and until clearance sampling is complete - and keep a manometer log.
- Protect electrical fixtures and never run a negative air machine with an unfiltered exhaust.
Decontamination
- Three-stage unit: equipment room (dirty), shower, clean room. Curtain flaps overlap so there is no direct line of sight into the work area. Workers move dirty to clean; waste exits through the equipment room, never the clean room.
- Small jobs may use a mini-enclosure or portable shower; the sequence is unchanged.
- Cleanup: wet wipe and HEPA vacuum all surfaces, fold poly dirty-side-in, and bag debris as it is generated rather than at shift end.
- Final visual inspection by the licensed project monitor: no dust, debris, or residue on surfaces, ledges, or HVAC. Only then start clearance sampling.
Worked example
After bagging the last of a ceiling removal, a crew wants to switch the HVAC back on to dry the containment. Wrong: moisture and settled dust would be re-entrained, visual inspection would fail, and any clearance samples would be invalid. Correct order: wet-wipe, HEPA vacuum, dry, visually inspect, sample, then restore HVAC.
Traps
- Single-stage decontamination that skips the shower.
- Removing poly before clearance.
- Wet-mopping, which spreads residue instead of removing it.